The present invention relates generally to an electronic commerce (EC) providing system, and more particularly to an EC providing system having an orderer authenticating function.
With an explosive spread of the Internet evolved, the electronic commerce (EC) on the network-based platform (environment) has been accelerated over the recent years. A multiplicity of virtual shops (EC shops) targeting sales of commercial articles exists as an EC site on the networks in the EC providing system.
In the case of purchasing an article from any one of those EC shops, the purchaser must be in home to receive the purchase target article, and this requirement of being in home may be a barrier to unmarried persons and double-income families.
Obviation of this problem requires a system in which the purchase target article is handed over to the purchaser at a retailer shop such as a convenience store and so on, and a usability of this system rises. This system, however, still have some points unfriendly to the orderer (who may be called a purchaser or consumer).
Normally, when the orderer receives the article purchased from the EC shop at the retailer (agency service trader) shop such as the convenience store etc, the EC shop and the agency service trader need to agree upon a delivery and receipt of the article, an agency service for the hand-over and further a settlement work.
It is in fact impossible that the multiplicity of EC shops existing on the network have the contracts with each of the agency service traders performing the works such as the hand-over of the purchase target articles. Therefore, the orderer is unable to specify an arbitrary desired agency service trader to receive the purchase target article, with the result that the utilizable EC shops are limited. This does not satisfy the demand of the orderer.
Further, when the orderer receives the purchase target article at the shop of the agency service trader, the identity of the orderer is confirmed by showing a sheet of record or the like handed when giving an order of the article, and its credibility still remains imperfect.
Moreover, the EC shop can get a confirmation about a state of the article hand-over to the orderer from a home delivery service trader when delivering the article to the home, however, a problem is that the EC shop is unable to confirm the article hand-over to the orderer if the article is delivered to the agency service trader shop like the convenience store etc. This makes it difficult for the EC shop to decide a time for starting the service such as an after-sales care etc that should be provided to the orderer.
As explained above, the conventional EC providing system is capable of improving the usability to such an extent that the orderer can receive the target article purchased from the EC shop at the agency service trader shop such as the convenience store etc, but has no such contrivance that the orderer can specify a desired agency service trader shop such as a nearby convenience store.
The conventional EC providing system does not include a highly credible system for confirming the orderer when the orderer receives the purchase target article.
Further, the EC shop, unlike the home delivery of the article, needs the in-between agency service trader through which the orderer receives the article, resulting in a time lag of receipt. Therefore, the EC shop inevitably loses a proper timing for providing the after-sales care (customer management) to the customer after purchasing the article.
Moreover, it is difficult for a middle- or small-sized EC shop to provide the orderer with an advantageous service in terms of an economical factor.
Accordingly, prosperity of the EC market cannot be expected in the conventional EC providing system containing these factors that prevent the development of the E-commerce.